Surviving in the 121st Century - Chapter 85



Only Noblemtl

On the outskirts of a sparsely populated garrison. Five people had gathered there, increasing the population density.

However, one of the five had already fallen backwards, and three were rolling their eyes trying to figure out the situation.

Jincheol spoke again after seeing the assassin Esai’s gaze.

“Put the knife down.”

“···How dare you, try to disrupt the main event···”

The voice that barely came out was so tightly suppressed that it seemed as if his throat was being strangled.

The assassination artifact is thin and light enough to be hidden under clothing, but its operating time is very short. However, an artifact is an artifact, and so for a moment, he can become faster than any other race. Naturally, that means that his body vision also speeds up to match his movements.

However, Esai Chartu had not seen Jincheol’s movements at all just a moment ago. Something flashed, and with a crack, his comrade’s teeth flew through the air. Then, a beat later, his body, unconscious, fell backwards. Naturally, the blade that had sprouted from the back of his hand trembled. His entire arm was shaking.

Jincheol smiled bitterly as he looked at Esai’s expression and the tip of his sword trembling.

“Hey. Stop making a fuss and put your sword down. I know a lot of people from the Antera family. Ferran, Morel, and Isanka. Aren’t you related to them too? I don’t want to blow the balls off my friends’ relatives. Put your sword down.”

“···”

At that moment, Snow slowly walked up behind her. Jincheol glanced at her and saw that she was already holding a long spear in her hand. She was approaching with the spear tip down and tucked under her side.

And then, as he saw Snow approaching him, a determination formed in Chartu’s eyes.

“Oh, shit.”

Are you another suicidal person? The moment Jincheol muttered a curse at the sight of her eyes, Chartu quickly pulled out a fist-sized piece of iron from his bosom. He tried to press the button on the piece with his finger.

But faster than the movement of those muscles was the white light that brushed across his forearm.

The white blade passed by like a ghost. The blade of the sword passed through the end of the handle like a ghost, lightly licked Esai’s wrist, and returned. Esai’s well-trained forearm snapped as if it were a joke.

“100 million!”

With Esai’s choking sound, Jincheol’s hand gently caught the falling iron ball. Esai stepped back hesitantly, bleeding profusely. He looked at his severed hand and shouted.

“Do not interfere with the main event, stranger! The winter that witch will bring is a curse that will plunge the whole world into sorrow…!”

Those crazy guys. How can a person call winter? Jincheol, who was about to lightly shoot it, realized that something was making a ticking sound inside the iron ball he was holding in his hand. As soon as he realized that, he immediately threw it with all his might towards the distant sky.

The iron ball flew into the distant sky with a pinging sound and quickly disappeared from sight. Only after a beat did something explode high in the sky, emitting fire and smoke.

“···”

Esai, who saw that, looked at the sky blankly, as if he was dumbfounded. Jincheol punched him in the face. Like his comrade, he fell backwards with his nose and teeth shattered.

Jincheol asked Snow, who came closer and shook off his hands.

“Are all the assassins like this?”

“···”

* * *

The assassins of Antera who had disguised themselves as merchants and targeted Snow were arrested. The Rabitos reacted sensitively because it was an incident where a bomb attack almost occurred on one side of the garrison.

He raised his voice, saying that he should lead the flying battleships to receive an apology from Sioux and that he should receive compensation from the Antera family. If Miguel hadn’t calmed him down, he would have really taken action.

But that enthusiasm didn’t last long. The revolutionary army was still at the Rostang Garrison, negotiating with Urata and keeping Siapo in check. The attack wasn’t aimed at the military, but Snow himself, and since no one was injured in the end, there weren’t many who insisted on continuing to sortie the battleship.

A few days after that incident, the Revolutionary Army Garrison was once again bustling with activity. There was progress in negotiations with Urata, and they were finally able to withdraw from the tent-filled Rostang Garrison and return to their proper homes.

The revolutionary army decided to console the soldiers by releasing the supplies and alcohol they had stored before disbanding the garrison. It wasn’t something grand like a banquet, but rather just a gathering of three or four people, each drinking a bottle or two of the alcohol they had been given.

Still, the command decided to gather in one place and have a banquet. Miguel seemed to have just wanted to mingle with the other soldiers and have fun, but it seemed like there was no choice because of the negotiation team that had arrived from Urata.

Jincheol was also invited to that place. Ramien and Ipani came to his tent with the intention of going with Jincheol. However, inside, someone was talking to Jincheol.

The two people looked at each other and quietly stuck their heads into the tent.

[···No, plug that wire into the socket next to it! How many times do I have to tell you!]

“So what socket? Is there only one socket? There are five or six holes, so why does it keep telling me to plug it in?”

[Put it in any of the five or six holes!]

“Aha. Then say it like that.”

Jincheol was fidgeting with his back to the inside of the tent. Then suddenly there was a crackling sound and sparks flew out.

“Wow. Why is it like this?”

[···Guest. I just realized. You are the leader of the Luddites. Are the Wi-Fi primitives really unable to do anything without Wi-Fi? Aha! That’s why you’re a primitive! Hehehe!]

However, Jincheol continued to fidget despite the whining voice, and soon something sparkled and brightened Jincheol’s dark face.

“Okay. What are the cavemen doing?”

[···Why doesn’t this work?]

Ramien and Ipani held their breath as they approached him from behind. Then, over Jincheol’s shoulder, they saw a table with screws, wires, and small tools rolling around, and on it, a pair of arm guards and a pair of armor shining with a mysterious light.

It was a strange shape, if anything. On top of the armor, which was engraved with mysterious patterns, there were large and small metal pieces added here and there, and the engraved patterns and the metal pieces were connected, emitting a soft glow.

Jincheol put it on his left arm. Then, the bluish light coming from the gauntlet instantly changed into a warm yellow light.

[It works fine. This is all thanks to my excellent reverse engineering skills. Thanks for letting me know, Korean.]

“If you’re so capable, then at least interpret the hacking data properly, Emma.”

[···If you give it just a little more time and manpower···]

Jincheol turned around, leaving behind Bonchip’s crawling answer. He naturally met Ramien and Ipani’s eyes and smiled. His arms lit up.

“Isn’t that amazing? That special agent’s mechanical arm is a combination of that and the artifact he originally had.”

“···Did you know we were coming?”

The light dimmed. Jincheol stood up after tidying up the messy table.

“Then why don’t you know why your nose is so stuffy?”

“What, nose? My nose?”

Ramien unconsciously touched his nose, and Ipani’s eyes sparkled as if she found it really fascinating.

“Wow, Mr. Jincheol, can you hear the sound of our noses moving?”

“Huh? No… I’m not saying I can really hear that sound….”

Jincheol stuttered for a moment at the sight of Ipani taking the joke literally. Then, as if he had been thinking about something, he laughed heartily and continued talking.

“Of course. When your species moves their noses, they make a very small sound. Tick-tock. I can hear it. How is it? Isn’t it fascinating?”

“Wow! That’s amazing! Mr. Jincheol has really, really good ears!”

“No, Ipani. That’s Jincheol···”

“huh?”

Ramien, who saw Jincheol’s expression, whispered something in Ipani’s ear. Then Ipani looked up at Jincheol with a slightly tearful expression.

“···Are you lying?”

“Are you lying? Why? Is that what Ramien said?”

“He said he was just joking to tease me.”

Jincheol said with a smiling face.

“I’m not joking. You’ve been hanging out with me all this time, and you’re doubting my hearing?”

“···”

Ramien’s eyes were filled with confusion. Is this true? You can really hear the sound of your nose moving? Her nose twitched in embarrassment. Jincheol burst out laughing when he saw that.

“You came with me to the place Miguel called you to, right? Let’s go.”

Jincheol led Ramien, who was looking at him with suspicious eyes, out of the tent. The banquet hall was one of the remaining buildings in Rostang, and it looked unusually clean and shiny in the middle of the desolate city.

As we went inside, we saw some familiar faces.

First, a stone fist of incomparable size to the rabbits was seen. He was sitting in the corner of the banquet hall, destroying food, and next to him, a small Maro was also destroying food with force, even though he was not eating much.

Aiman, Haita, and the Sandesiya royal family Harmen, who had been hiding somewhere, and his pirate subordinates were also seen. The rest were all Rabitos, and when Jincheol couldn’t find a single one, he grabbed a revolutionary army officer who was walking next to him and asked him.

“Snow?”

“Ah, Snow Team… I invited you, but…”

It seemed like he hadn’t come. After all, it was just a few days ago that an assassin came looking for his life. Jincheol decided to go and look for him later, but first he looked for Miguel.

Miguel was talking to someone while holding a glass of alcohol. It was a slightly older Rabito, and to Jincheol, she looked like a middle-aged woman wearing a very luxurious uniform and skirt.

Ramien’s movements suddenly stopped when he saw the woman.

“why?”

“···My mother.”

That Rabito, the president of Jaso Central Bank? He was one of the most important figures in Miguel’s plan to push Ramien.

As Jincheol approached, Miguel also noticed him.

“Oh! Jincheol! Welcome! Are you enjoying the banquet?”

“Now that I’m here, what’s the point of enjoying it?”

“Really? Then let’s drink first.”

He naturally picked up a glass from the table next to him and offered it to Jincheol. Then he picked up his own glass and downed it in one gulp. Jincheol, who saw this, also emptied his glass.

Miguel laughed when he saw the clean glass. Judging from the way he smiled, he looked like an old man you might meet at a local bar, not the leader of the revolutionary army.

“Oh, I should introduce this person. She is the governor of the Central Bank of Naf. She is also Ramien’s mother.”

“Nice to meet you, Hijacker. I’ve heard a lot about your reputation.”

“···Ah, yes. Nice to meet you.”

No, shit. Isn’t the name Hijacker a thief with a reputation? As he was casually greeting Jincheol, Bank Manager Naph’s gaze shifted to the side. There was Ramien with a stiff expression and Ipani smiling broadly.

The bank manager looked at Ramien’s attire and said:

“Did you come all the way here wearing those clothes?”

Ramien was wearing her usual aviator coat. Of course, this wasn’t a high-class banquet, and most of the people walking around were wearing their usual military uniforms or coats, so her outfit wasn’t particularly flashy.

“···Because it was the last piece of clothing I received as a gift.”

Ramien said that while looking straight at the bank president, and the president’s expression hardened slightly. She glanced at Ipani next to her, then turned her gaze to Miguel and smiled.

“Can we have a moment to talk about mother and daughter?”

“Oh, that’s okay. Go ahead and do that.”

In that way, Bank Manager Naph, Ramien, and Ipani moved away to the corner of the banquet hall. To Jincheol, the atmosphere among the three of them did not seem as bad as he had thought. At least, they did not look like a mother who was forced to join the military, a daughter who was forced to join, and that daughter’s girlfriend.

“Chairman Naph will provide full support to Ramien.”

Jincheol’s gaze returned to Miguel. He continued speaking, gulping down new wine from a new glass.

“She also knows what I mean. She will support Ramien with all the resources she can.”

“Did Ramien say he would do it?”

Ramien’s consent. Or rather, his determination. What Jincheol had asked him to do before doing anything. Miguel smiled and raised his glass.

“It wasn’t hard to convince. I guess it would be better than living forever hiding your relationship with your lover from the world. Yes. It would be better than dying suffocated in a dark corner without anyone knowing…”

“I see.”

Jincheol and Miguel stood there for a while, looking at the banquet hall, just sipping their glasses. They called it a banquet, but the atmosphere was much more relaxed than they had expected. It would be more appropriate to call it a company dinner than a banquet.

As the Rabitos’ attention was focused on the newly introduced carrot dish, Miguel opened his mouth again.

“When do you plan on leaving?”

Jincheol glanced at him and chuckled.

“It’s a pair of tongs. It looks like there’s a lot of tea.”

“You came like the wind, so I thought you’d leave like the wind. With no more airships for the hijackers to hijack, isn’t it only natural that they’d go off in search of another prey?”

“···What on earth do you think a hijacker is?”

“Isn’t it the predator of the sky?”

How did that happen? Of course, it was because Jincheol provided the excuse.

“Okay. Maybe in a few days.”

“Where are you going?”

“well···”

Jincheol, who was thinking for a moment, saw Doljumeok swallowing food in the distance.

“I too should go to that wilderness place···”

“Then can you take Snow with you?”

Jincheol frowned.

“Why? Are you going to get rid of it because it’s no longer useful?”

“···I want her to stay here. Practically speaking, I need the best guerrillas for the upcoming revolution, and personally, I want to give her a comfortable life after everything is over. As for the assassins of Shiol, we can stop them with a little more security.”

Miguel was speaking with a serious expression. It didn’t seem like a lie.

“But I don’t think she thinks so. She’s thinking of leaving like you.”

“So, two wanderers with no place to go, should we hold hands and set off?”

“She is a lonely person. Without a single companion to watch over her, she would collapse and die in some field. Please.”

“No, do you think you can do that if you ask me to? It’s the heart of someone who wants to leave.”

Then a startled voice interrupted.

“What? You’re leaving?”

When I turned my head, I saw Ramien, who was carrying a plate full of carrot dishes. She was looking at Jincheol with her big eyes.